-The Hindu Proposed NIB would be illegal, she says Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan has expressed “very serious concern” at the setting up of a National Investment Board to fast-track clearances of major infrastructure projects, saying the “concept is unacceptable,” documents exclusively obtained by The Hindu reveal. In a five-page letter sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 9, Ms. Natarajan said the proposal would upturn established procedures...

-Live Mint He is at the head of a march to Delhi for a new policy that promises every poor family a small patch of Land Morena (Madhya Pradesh): One hot Friday in October, a 64-year-old man named P.V. Rajagopal is marching at the head of a procession of around 50,000 people on the highway from Gwalior to Delhi.   Rajagopal is slight and heavily sunburnt, and has walked tens of thousands of kilometres...

-PTI The government should only in exceptional cases permit acquisition of farm Land for non- agriculture purposes like setting up of industries and housing projects, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday. Mr. Pawar, who heads the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Land acquisition bill, said there is a pressure on farm Land because of rising population. He said the government would ensure agricultural Land having high yields is not allowed for...

-The Times of India Top Congress leader and defence minister A K Antony said government should not acquire Land for private entities since it is a big trigger for agitations, reverting the debate over Land acquisition bill to the strict norms that were sought to be diluted on the pretext of industrialization.  Antony told the Sharad Pawar-led group of ministers debating the proposed bill that Land had become a scarce resource and...

-The Hindu The Group of Ministers (GoM), discussing the controversial Land Acquisition Bill, has failed to reach a consensus at their second meeting on Monday, remaining divided on what percentage of Landowners need to consent, as well as if the Bill’s provisions should be applied retrospectively to ongoing acquisitions. “Two or three more meetings are needed to finalise the Bill,” Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who heads the GoM, told journalists after the...